Fast Retailing, the Japanese group behind the Uniqlo brand, will close most of its UK stores in a bid to halt a rapid fall in profits.

They will close their two Manchester stores - at Market Street and the West One centre, Eccles - as part of a programme of 18 closures. They will keep just five stores - all in London.

Sales in the north west stores were said to be disappointing. In January the struggling fashion chain made its UK property director redundant to rein in costs.

Uniqlo opened its first UK stores in November 2001 and had planned to open 50 stores by this year. That plan is now in ruins.

Patrick Heaps, retail director at FDP Savills, who is handling the sell-off for Uniqlo, said: "This is about the national perspective, about Uniqlo deciding to keep the five most profitable stores and disposing of all the rest. It just so happens that all the ones they are keeping are in Greater London.

éI don't think it tells us anything about Manchester - Manchester is a fantastic city with tremendous retail growth. The pull-out is not so much because Uniqlo is disappointed with Manchester but because they are pursuing a strategy."

The withdrawal from Manchester is a blow to the West One centre at Eccles and will leave a gap on Market Street.

At West One Uniqlo occupies a 678-sq m ground floor store paying a rent of é187,050 a year, while at 19 Market Street it has a 307-sq m ground floor store paying a rent of é412,500 a year.